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Missing painting found hanging in bathroom

Friday, September 17th, 2010

A lost painting worth more than a million dollars that went missing for six weeks has turned up – hanging on the bathroom wall of a New York doorman.

The man claimed he had found the picture, entitled Portrait of a Girl by the 19th-century French painterJean-Baptiste Camille Corot, an important figure mostly known for printmaking and landscapes, in some bushes outside the Fifth Avenue nightspot where he works.

He says that he took it home, hung it in the bathroom, and forgot about it – until friends suggested it might be valuable and he started to research its history. At that point he handed it over to the police.

That’s when its chequered journey – at the centre of a legal battle and a criminal investigation by the FBI – came fully to light. The New York Post has the story:

Doorman delivers lost art

When friends gazed at the impressive addition to Puentes’ gallery, they told him it appeared pretty valuable, sources said.

He researched it and last Sunday discovered that it was at the center of a legal storm that included a lawsuit and federal criminal charges.

He brought it that day to the 19th Precinct station house and turned it over to surprised cops.

The FBI, which had charged one of its co-owners with fraud, soon showed up and took possession of the artwork.

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